Would-be robber tells Steak 'n Shake others made him do it

A man who tried to shake down the Steak 'n Shake by telling employees there that people were making him do it left empty-handed early Tuesday morning.

By AUSTIN L. MILLERStaff writer

OCALA - A man who tried to shake down the Steak ‘n Shake by telling employees that people were making him do it left empty-handed early Tuesday morning.

It is the second such incident within the last 24 hours and law enforcement officials believe the same person may have been involved each time.

Ocala Police Department detectives are working closely with the Marion County Sheriff's Office Tactical Investigations Unit to solve the cases.

In Tuesday's case, an employee at Steak ‘n Shake at 3800 SW College Road told an Ocala Police Department officer that the would-be robber approached the register and asked for a manager but the manager was busy, according to OPD. The stranger then told the employee there was someone in his car and two people at his home who had told him to rob the business.

The employee told him she'd get a manager. The man gave the manager a similar story and was told that workers were going to call police.

The would-be robber then quickly left, got into a four-door, white, late-1990s model sedan that was parked at the northeast corner of the parking lot and drove away.

The suspect was described as a 5-feet 7-inch tall, 140- to 180-pound white man with dirty blond hair and no beard or mustache. He was wearing a white shirt and khaki pants.

The incident was reported at 12:59 a.m.

On Monday, shortly after 2 a.m., a man told the clerk at the Kangaroo store at 5160 S. Pine Ave. that he had been carjacked. He said two gunmen in his car had threatened to kill him if he did not rob the store. The cashier gave the man about $55 and he got into a newer model, white Chrysler four-door sedan and drove away.

The cashier said she didn't see anyone in the front passenger seat and could not tell if anyone was in the backseat because of the car's tinted windows, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office

The man was described as a 5-foot 7-inch tall, 140-pound white man in his mid-20s with brown hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a white shirt and dark shorts.

Anyone with information about either incident can call OPD's Detective Mike Hilton 427-2781, the Sheriff's Office at 732-9111 or Crime Stoppers at 368-STOP, or visit www.ocalacrimestoppers.com